Africa-Press – South-Africa. It’s all systems go for the EFF’s planned national shutdown on Monday, with South Africans on both sides of the fence as to whether President Cyril Ramaphosa should resign.
The EFF wants an end to load shedding and the president to step down.
EFF leader Julius Malema, during a briefing on Friday, said the party was all set for Monday’s protest action.
“We cannot be defeated by clowns and drunkards in government, who know nothing about governing.
“On Monday, it’s not a drinking day. Anyone who drinks alcohol on that day is a sell-out,” Malema said.
A crime activist in Delft, Sisa Makaula, said that, if he was not permanently bound to his wheelchair, he most certainly would’ve joined the EFF’s march.
“The initiative taken by the EFF is needed. We need to put pressure on the government for the crises in this country. For far too long, we have kept quiet about the state this country is in, and the EFF taking this stand is admirable,” Makaula said.
“I don’t think this shutdown will automatically solve the country’s problems, but if we don’t do pickets or protests, the government will continue to do as they please. We need to all stand together and say enough is enough. This Eskom crisis is insane, and we cannot allow this to happen daily.”
A KwaZulu-Natal resident, Anita Mkhabela, also supported the shutdown, but said it should be peaceful.
Mkhabela said:
Mark Jacobs, from Mitchells Plain, asked what the EFF would achieve once the march was over.
“What will they accomplish by making people stay away from work, damaging cars and burning buses? How do you move forward by making everyone else’s life difficult on the day? Do we think Ramaphosa will resign after this shutdown?” asked Jacobs.
Sakumzi Nyamza, from Khayelitsha, said he was not concerned about the shutdown in the Western Cape because the DA was granted a court order to prevent the EFF from causing havoc.
“There will be some order on Monday. I believe that the country’s problems won’t be solved immediately. Still, the ANC will get another wake-up by this shutdown because people are not happy about this load shedding and the state of the economy,” Nyamza said.
“The shutdown will either add to the poverty percentage through looting, or it will be a wake-up call for the ANC government to improve. Ramaphosa won’t resign.”
A worried Cape Town contractor said: “He’s [Malema] always threatening these types of things, but he’s gone very far this time.”
He said the company he worked for would lose a day on Monday because they wouldn’t be able to fetch their employees in Joe Slovo.
“He’s destroyed a four-day working week and turned it into three. People still need to be paid and we don’t get paid if we don’t work.
“Do your thing, protest, but don’t threaten people’s lives if they don’t want to join in.”
A Cape Town trader and single mom said she was initially not worried, but when she went to fetch stock for her business in Athlone on Sunday, the sight of law enforcement officials picking up tyres and bricks from the side of the road shocked her.
“I thought: ‘This is going to be bad.'”
She planned to stay indoors, at home, with her toddler daughter.
More than 100 tyres were picked up at the first entrance of Masiphumelele in Fish Hoek on Saturday evening.Supplied Supplied by City of Cape Town law enforcement Luna August, from Johannesburg, considers the shutdown to be aimed at regime change to transform governance in the country.
“I’m not really worried about this shutdown. I will leave the house because I think any concern about the shutdown comes from not understanding it.
“It’s possible that the shutdown could give room for other uprisings to take place, even though the results of the shutdown may not be immediate. But when South Africans take to the polls next year, I think we’ll see the effect the shutdown had,” August said.
The high school teacher said the EFF had taken this stance to voice their concerns and anger at the president for not doing enough to stabilise the country, especially regarding load shedding.
August said:
I highly encourage the youth to participate. I definitely don’t think Ramaphosa will resign, but things don’t look good for the ANC, and I think that SA’s political landscape will change soon.Johannesburg residents Cheryll and Saskia Brown said they wouldn’t be leaving their house on Monday.
“Even though police have boldly come out to say measures have been put in place, and the courts have granted interdicts for Monday, I would feel safer in my house,” Cheryll said.
“I do agree with the reason behind the EFF’s protest because I am certain almost everyone in this country is gatvol of the high inflation rates, load shedding, petrol and food prices that keep increasing,” she said.
She said the EFF’s plan to shut down was “courageous”, but she felt strongly that this wouldn’t lead to the president’s resignation.
“Honestly, I think what the EFF is doing is right, but surely the party doesn’t expect the president to resign by 06:00 on Tuesday. I think that is a bit far-fetched.
“I am in no way a fan of Julius Malema and his party, but I do take my hat off to them for pulling off this shutdown on behalf of the millions in the country,” Cheryll said.
Saskia, in turn, hoped there would be no looting or violence during the shutdown.
“I believe police and law enforcement have this under control and that the country will come out in one piece. We definitely don’t need to be disrupting the economy and damaging anything the protesters can find.
“We need to raise our voices because we cannot be allowed to be subjected to this corruption and load shedding taking place all around us,” Saskia said.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a resident of Mpumalanga she supported the reasons behind the national shutdown, but she was concerned about the impact it would have on people’s livelihoods.
“I want load shedding to be a thing of the past. However, I am also concerned that, if the EFF protests, they will block roads and it will be difficult for some of us to get to our places of work. For instance, our management has already informed us that, if we do not come to work on Monday, we will not get paid for that day,” she said.
“So, while I think it’s for the greater good, I just wish there was a better way of voicing our concerns.”
Siphosethu Thwala, from Langa, said the EFF was providing a fresh perspective into the county’s governance and that they were holding those in power to account.
Thwala said:
I am not an EFF supporter, but it shouldn’t take an EFF supporter to want issues, such as load shedding, to come to an end. Load shedding is a national challenge as it affects everyone. But my concern is the destruction of roads and looting that may take place, while the protesters are trying to voice their opinions.”From the public outcry that happened in [KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng last year], it should have been a lesson to all of us that change will not come through anarchy. This also sends a message to South Africans to make the right choice when they vote for their leaders.”
A Gqeberha resident, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the EFF “should speak last” about good governance.
“These political parties think it is okay to toy with our emotions. Yes, we all hate load shedding. It’s disruptive and annoying, but Julius Malema in charge of SA will be even more disruptive.”
A local from Plettenberg Bay said the only thing the EFF was good at was causing disruption and havoc.
“They disrespect Parliament and they disrespect the president. Whether we like Ramaphosa or not, he is a far better president than what the EFF can offer.”
A resident from Bloemfontein, who did not want to be named, said: “Let us not forget the EFF was backing Zuma at one point. Ramaphosa did not cause the energy crisis. It’s been there for years. Presidents before him did nothing. At least he is finding alternatives.”
Police officers who were addressed by Bheki Cele ahead of Monday’s national shutdown. News24 PHOTO: Alfonso Nqunjana, News24 A Kraaifontein resident said she was not too worried about events in the Western Cape, but was extremely concerned about her clients in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal.
“Things always get a bit hectic there,” she said.
A client in Durban had told her that their neighbourhood had decided to barricade streets, with only residents being allowed in or out.
The National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (Natjoints) briefed the media on Friday about security measures ahead of the protest action, saying it regarded “every corner of SA” as a hot spot for criminality.
“Every corner of SA is a hotspot, and all the provinces are targeted. We have mobilised everywhere, and all the provinces are hard at work. All routes are a priority. We will respond accordingly to any highway that is under threat. Everybody will be protected and saved from the anarchy that might prevail,” said the deputy national police commissioner, Tebello Mosikili.
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